Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: The Assassin's Flame Storm
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The assailant had never imagined his ambush would fail.
It was a stroke of luck that he had covered his face with a mask.
If he had shown his bare face, Kang Jin-hyuk would have gotten a clear look at the shock written all over it.
‘Damn it!’
His dagger was coated thickly with highly concentrated paralysis potion.
Its potency was enough to paralyze even an elephant with a single small syringe.
The tiniest scratch would spell doom if the potion seeped under the skin.
But no matter how threatening the weapon, it was useless if it didn’t connect.
“What the hell are you?!”
Kang Jin-hyuk dodged the assailant’s dagger with nimble footwork and reached out to rip off his mask.
The assailant, anticipating the move, retreated first and activated his camouflage skill once more.
Kang Jin-hyuk was thrown into confusion as the man vanished and reappeared right before his eyes, like some magic show.
He had no idea what the attacker’s goal or motive was.
He had a few guesses, but without hearing it straight from the man’s mouth, it was all just speculation.
Kang Jin-hyuk circulated an aura of divine power through his body and scanned his surroundings.
‘He’s still nearby.’
He could faintly hear footsteps.
The assailant was holding out at a razor’s edge distance, making his exact position impossible to pinpoint.
‘At this rate, I’m the only one at a disadvantage.’
The enemy could see exactly where he was and what he was doing, while he couldn’t spot the attacker at all.
If this dragged on, he’d show an opening and allow another ambush.
Pondering a solution, Kang Jin-hyuk suddenly broke into a full sprint.
The assailant, hidden nearby, saw him running and assumed he was fleeing.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
The assailant had no intention of letting Kang Jin-hyuk escape.
He was determined to seize the new monster’s corpse before giving up.
Chasing after Kang Jin-hyuk, the assailant finally followed him out of the alley.
Only after emerging into view of the buildings and crowds did the assailant realize his plan.
“You deliberately led me to a crowded place...”
To hide a tree, hide it in the forest.
Blending into a throng of people, the assailant couldn’t easily spot Kang Jin-hyuk with the naked eye.
“Not a bad idea, but you picked the wrong opponent.”
Standing in the middle of the crowd, the assailant activated his scouting skill.
The ambush had failed, but in the moment Kang Jin-hyuk dodged the dagger, he had successfully marked him.
As long as the mark was there, he could track Kang Jin-hyuk anywhere with his scouting skill.
“There he is.”
The assailant pinpointed the building where Kang Jin-hyuk had slipped into.
“How did he get all the way to that department store across the street so fast?”
It hadn’t even been a few minutes since they left the alley.
The scouting skill revealed Kang Jin-hyuk’s position at a department store two crosswalks away.
No ordinary speed could have gotten him there first to lie in wait.
“And that dodge earlier... Looks like catching that new monster wasn’t just luck.”
He had dismissed the rumors as a lucky fluke for some no-name hack who’d gotten in over his head.
But after clashing directly, he changed his mind.
This supposed run-of-the-mill C-rank Hunter had real skill and sharp instincts.
He regretted not preparing more thoroughly, but he hadn’t had the time.
“Gotta finish him before he hides and calls the cops.”
The assailant hurried toward the department store.
As things got tougher than expected, impatience crept in.
Raising his dagger to charge the moment he spotted Kang Jin-hyuk’s face, the assailant entered the department store entrance.
The instant he pushed open the glass door and stepped inside, Kang Jin-hyuk—hidden right beside it—swung his fist.
“Gah!”
Caught off guard by the timing, the assailant tumbled to the floor.
The impact even canceled his camouflage skill.
Struggling to his feet, he chugged a potion.
‘H-how did he...?’
Kang Jin-hyuk clicked his tongue in disappointment at the assailant who hadn’t passed out.
Even guessing his position, he hadn’t been visible, so he couldn’t aim for a vital spot.
“If one punch doesn’t do it, I’ll just keep hitting until it does!”
Before the assailant could vanish again, Kang Jin-hyuk lunged forward.
Cornered, the assailant’s face darkened.
The potion only dulled the pain; his shoulder, shattered by the bat-like blow, wouldn’t move.
In this state, even camouflage wouldn’t let him create distance.
‘No idea how he’s doing it, but if he gets close, he’ll sniff out my position...!’
Without distance, camouflage was useless.
With no choice, the assailant extended his left hand and cast a defensive skill.
“Shield!”
A translucent barrier appeared in front of him, just like Kang Jin-hyuk’s Holy Shield.
Seeing it, Kang Jin-hyuk realized the man was a mage.
No other class could use shields like that.
‘Normally, I’d be at a disadvantage, but not here.’
Mages had powerful ranged skills.
But they were in a crowded department store.
Unleashing ranged skills here could cause a disaster.
Kang Jin-hyuk figured any sane person wouldn’t dare use them.
Feeling secure, he threw his punch with full force.
He didn’t forget to infuse it with divine power aura at the same time.
Boom!
The collision of fist and shield exploded like a bomb.
Everyone in the department store turned toward the noise.
There, the shield was shattering to pieces, the masked assailant staring in horror.
“You mad bastard!”
The assailant couldn’t believe his eyes.
How could a C-rank Hunter shatter a shield skill with one bare-handed strike?
The intel even said his class was Cleric.
A Cleric with nothing but support skills shattering a shield barehanded? Impossible.
But he couldn’t keep gawking at the unbelievable sight.
The fist that had demolished the shield was now coming for him.
Of his skills, only one could block it.
Even with his choice clear, the assailant hesitated.
‘If I use that here...’
A sliver of conscience made him waver.
But backed into a corner, he finally thrust his hand toward Kang Jin-hyuk.
“Flame Storm!”
Kang Jin-hyuk gasped at the skill name and the flames erupting from the man’s hand.
The scorching, flame-laced storm engulfed him and nearby civilians alike.
Sprinklers burst from the ceiling to douse the blaze, but the inferno raging through the department store showed no signs of dying down.
Feeding on clothes racks, the flames only grew fiercer.
Screams filled the air from those suddenly caught in the firestorm.
“Aaagh!”
“Help! Somebody!”
Flames roared at the entrance, blocking escape that way.
Trapped inside, people smashed windows to flee.
“Heh...”
The assailant laughed hollowly at the chaos he’d wrought.
He’d never imagined coveting a new monster’s materials would escalate this far.
He regretted not learning more utility skills in advance.
“Good thing I wore the mask.”
No one knew his identity, so he could slip away unnoticed.
Too bad about missing the monster materials from the probably incinerated Kang Jin-hyuk, but it couldn’t be helped.
Lingering here risked getting nabbed by Association hunters.
Rising amid the panic, the assailant slunk toward the entrance.
“Man, you really went all out.”
“That’s my line, you son of a bitch.”
“What...?”
Startled, the assailant whipped his head toward the unexpected voice.
There stood Kang Jin-hyuk, clothes charred black, leaving the assailant speechless.
“H-how are you still alive!?”
He had clearly seen Kang Jin-hyuk take the flames head-on.
Anyone else would have been charred to a crisp.
“Damn it!”
Desperate, the assailant reached out again.
First time was rough, but doubling down was nothing.
He’d already assaulted a hunter and harmed civilians; getting caught meant life in prison at best, execution at worst.
Hunters, with their superior abilities, faced harsher penalties than civilians for public safety.
Better to cause another incident than get nabbed.
“Flame St—!”
Mid-incantation, he spotted something flying at him.
The moment he registered it, his skull exploded with a sickening crunch.
The last thing the assailant saw was the thermos Kang Jin-hyuk had hurled at full force.
Kang Jin-hyuk knew full well that at this speed, the thermos would kill on impact.
He had no choice despite knowing it.
It was self-defense, and stopping it here prevented who-knows-what further damage.
“Damn it!”
Watching the assailant’s headless corpse topple backward, Kang Jin-hyuk slumped to the floor.
Not guilt over killing—he was shocked, sure, but the bastard deserved it.
His grimace came from a hunter’s traits and Cleric restrictions.
Killing a human granted the ‘Villain’ title in your status window.
Visible to other hunters, it was a permanent stain.
Worse, Villains couldn’t use Cleric skills.
Even listed, they became unusable.
Divine power vanished, blocking even his hard-earned aura.
“You absolute bastard...”
In this spiraling nightmare, regret gnawed at Kang Jin-hyuk.
He’d thought luring him to a crowd would make him back off.
Never dreamed he’d pull something this insane.
Would it have ended differently in the alley?
Lost in turmoil, a notification chimed, and a message window appeared.
[Karma value increases due to murder.]
[Due to justified killing, the ‘Villain’ title is not generated.]
[The Cleric’s skills are altered.]
[Level up.]
[Second job change condition (Hidden) achieved.]
Staring at the messages, Kang Jin-hyuk was baffled.
Not disappearance, but altered?